Cold Spells
by HecateA
Summary: Sometimes Dean worries that a piece of Malfoy Manor's dungeon is still in him, chilling him to the bone. Luckily Seamus is always willing to huddle for warmth. Oneshot.


**Author's Note: **Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Dedication: **To Amanda, my Secret Santa on the MC4A forum, whose prompts lead us to this story.

**Warnings:** PTSD

* * *

**Cold Spells **

Seamus found him, sitting by the heating vent in the kitchen with his hands hidden in the sleeve of his sweater and his knees up against his chest.

"Hey," he said quietly. His close-cropped hair was perfectly combed down and he was wearing a caramel-coloured cable sweater that lightened up the shade of his eyes. He offered Dean a smile. "Babe…"

"I'm fine," Dean said.

"You're shivering," Seamus said. He knelt in front of Dean and offered a hand. "May I warm you up?"

Dean smiled but part of him hesitated—wanted to say no to avoid the awkwardness of Seamus trying and failing to share his warmth, of Dean being cold throughout the night and into the next day or whenever this particular cold spell lifted, of sleeping on the couch to avoid freezing his partner overnight...

"Come on," Seamus said, extending his hand a little further. "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Dean asked.

"But you have to come see it," Seamus said. At that Dean was sold. He took Seamus' hand and couldn't help but notice how his boyfriend winced at his cold touch. He was particularly frigid today. Still, Seamus brought his hand to his lips and gave it a kiss before leading Dean out of the kitchen and into the living room.

He'd built a fire in the fireplace that roared and crackled happily, and without any sign of an explosion that may have preceded it too. More impressively, Seamus had also built a blanket fort in the living room with what must be every pillow, blanket, towel, and sheet he'd been able to scavenge in the cabin they'd rented for their holiday getaway.

"Someone's been busy," Dean said.

"Someone was anticipating that somebody else would need a warm place and a burst of heat," Seamus said. He pointed to the coffee table. "I moved the kettle so that it's right there, if we need tea or hot chocolate, too."

Before Dean could even formulate a thank you, Seamus was wrapping Dean in a green blanket they'd slept with last night and dragging him into the fort. The radio was inside, playing soft Wizarding Christmas carols. Fairy lights were criss-crossing the fort and Seamus had even brought in Dean's sketchbook and good pencils. His Muggle DVD player was also there, along with the stack of Christmas films he made Seamus watch every year. A bowl of freshly popped popcorn accompanied the whole thing and by some feat of magic or architectural genius, there was still room aplenty for a nest of blankets undoubtedly meant for them.

"Come on then," Seamus said. "Let's get you warmed up…"

"This is brilliant," Dean said.

"This is nothing," Seamus said, kissing his cheek. "I just hope it helps."

"You're the best remedy when these happen," Dean said.

"Then perfect; because I'm not going anywhere," Seamus said.

He snuggled against Seamus when they sat down, desperately huddling for warmth but without finding it. There was no real explanation for what these were—once the Healers at St. Mungo's had confirmed that they weren't dangerous, they'd started referring to them as Dean's cold spells and had carried on as per usual, simply stopping to wait them through as they came. They were still a little mysterious.

One night, on a particularly intense cold spell which they had tried unsuccessfully to cure with some otherwise quite effective and potent firewhisky, Dean had confessed to Seamus hat he was afraid that a piece of Malfoy Manor's cold, dark basement would always be in him. That it would always flare up, chilling him from his core to his fingertips, and that a part of Dean would always be as cold as that dungeon had been. Dean didn't know how seriously Seamus had taken that, or if he even remembered it, but he knew that he was thinking of that again right now. About what had happened down there, what he'd seen, what it meant, and how cold it had been, how cold it was now…

"I'm sorry," Dean said quietly.

"You didn't do anything, so why are you apologizing?" Seamus said. With the way they were sitting, fit against one another like this, Seamus' lips were just behind Dean's ear. The vibrations combined with the sound of his voice were particularly soothing.

"I know you wanted to go down to the village and see that Christmas market tonight," Dean said. "But we're here now instead."

"We are," Seamus acknowledged. "But I am always happy to be your own personal furnace, Dean Thomas. And I will always be more than happy to give you whatever it is you need when and where and how you need it."

The circulation in Dean's fingertips didn't pick up and his lips still felt impossibly cold, but his heart warmed and he felt something stir in the pit of his stomach. He didn't warm up as the moments of quietness between them passed, it wasn't that easy. But still, this cold was much different from that in Malfoy Manor. Here, against Seamus and being a gangly and too-tall little spoon, he was safe, he was valued, and he was loved.

"Marry me," Dean said.

"What?" Seamus said.

"Marry me," Dean said. "That's why I suggested coming to the country for a while, what I really wanted to do here. I was going to propose to you at the Christmas market since you love them so much. I thought it would be so nice with all the lights glowing around us and the music and the street food smells; but I think that you and me, huddled up against the world, is much more representative of who we are and what we've been and where… where I want us to go if you, Seamus Finnegan, will marry me."

Seamus was quiet for a few seconds, though his arms tightened around Dean.

"Did you get me a ring?" Seamus asked.

"I did," Dean said. "Does that change your answer?"

"No," Seamus said. "Going out to get it just gives me a reason to get up and out of this blanket fort instead of kissing you forever."

* * *

**Stacked with:** Hogwarts; Winter Bingo

**Individual Challenge(s): **Gryffindor MC (x2); Brush; Seeds; Winter Wonderland; Home for the Holidays; Trio of Gold; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Love); Themes & Things B (Captivity); Themes & Things C (Blanket); Themes & Things D (Sweater/Jumper); Themes & Things E (Jewelry); Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

**Word Count:** 1025

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_**Winter Bingo **_

**Space (Prompt): **2A (Cold)

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_**Shipping Wars**_

**Ship (Team): **Dean Thomas/Seamus Finnegan (Boom Boys)

**List (Prompt): **Spring Big List (Blanket Fort)


End file.
